The Death Cure

The Rat Man leads Thomas through a lobby and says they should talk in his office. Thomas asks to use the bathroom, thinking about the device hidden in his backpack. After he hides the device in a cabinet and meets the Rat Man outside the bathroom, he asks why WICKED thinks they need him to complete the cure. The Rat Man leads him to a room where a man and a woman greet Thomas—Dr. Christensen and Dr. Wright.

The Rat Man reveals why they chose Thomas as the Final Candidate: his tendency not to follow orders. “Played to the end, Thomas thought bitterly. His own attempts to rebel had turned out to be exactly what they wanted. Every ounce of his anger directed at the man sitting in front of him. At the Rat Man. To Thomas, Janson had come to represent WICKED from top to bottom” (254). The Rat Man explains the most important thing they need from Thomas is his brain.

Dr. Christensen explains they need to do a vivisection while his systems are functioning to get the final data for the cure. Thomas wonders if Teresa knew about WICKED needing his brain. He is hurt by the idea. The doctors explain to Thomas that they are not lying, they need to look into his brain. They admit the procedure is fatal. Thomas asks what happens if cutting his brain open does not result in a cure. He asks for some time to think, and they agree to give him a private room while they set up the procedure.

They bring him to a room. The Rat Man tells him there is a typing pad inside just in case he wants to leave any messages for his friends. He writes goodbye notes to Minho and Brenda. Janson comes to get Thomas, explaining they must start the procedure soon. Thomas wants more time, but the Rat Man insists waiting will make it harder. Just as they settle him onto a wheeled bed, the alarm sounds, The Rat Man tells Dr. Christensen to put Thomas under.

They prick him with a needle, and his body goes numb. “Thomas closed his eyes. He wondered if the weapons-disabling device had done its job. Wondered if anyone would find him. Then he realized, did he even want them to? Was it really possible that WICKED almost had a cure? He forced himself to breathe evenly, focus on trying to move his limbs. But nothing happened” (264). Thomas feels movement coming back to his body and hears explosions. The doctor pushes his bed into a room where scrub-clad people explain that the prep is not completed. They sedated him and he falls asleep.

“For a long time, Thomas knew only darkness….Somewhere on the edge of it all, he knew that he was supposed to be asleep….So he wasn’t dead yet” (267). He hears his name and tries to move toward it.

A woman is there, telling him she has faith in him. She disappears before he can see her. When he wakes up completely, he notices a red folder next to him. Inside the envelope, he finds a map of the WICKED complex and a letter from Chancellor Paige. The letter explains that she does not believe they need his brain to complete a cure. With the blueprint from the trials, they should be able to create something. She details how he can get out of the building with his friends and other Immunes. The map shows how to get to the Right Arm’s attack party, to the Immunes, and to a backdoor out of the facility. As Thomas runs down the hallways, he realizes the Immunes are where he began: the Maze.